august, conrad fisher

eight

the next day belly, steven and i got up early for the debutant dance rehearsal.
because we looked really cheesy i parked as close to the building as i could.
on our way we made a stop at the local coffee shop and ended up vibing to '1989' the whole way.

_

"attention, everyone. please welcome our debutante waltz instructor, ms. covington, all the way from ms. covington's school of ballroom dance in newton" paige said and we applauded.
"thank you, paige. as you all know, the waltz is the most highly anticipated part of the ball. so, please join your partners now... come on....and we will begin with fundamentals, starting with the box step. when the music starts, you do not..."

"hey. where's your escort?" nicole came up to me while everyone went to their partners.
"uh i still don't have one, i don't know that much people here."
"oh. that's okay. uh, i-i'll be your partner for today."
"really?"
"sure, i'm belly's deb sister and you're her real. but you need an escort for the big night. paige is gonna have, like, an aneurysm if you wait too long."
"yeah, so will susannah."
after yesterday i planned on asking conrad.

"all right. take a step, go back. you're-you're doing really good. it's a simple step. forward with the left, slide to the right, and then the feet close together."

"um, did you do all this last year with conrad?" i asked carefully.
"well, conrad was spared ms. covington. i was originally supposed to go with this guy james, but he dropped out last-minute. so conrad stepped in to save me."
"yeah, susannah taught him a lot of dances."

"conrad actually, um... he-he left me on-on read last night. and i was wondering if you've seen him at all today."
"um... no, he was... he was still asleep when i left. so..."
"oh. okay."
man, i really need to talk to that guy. the last thing i need is being part of a love triangle.

after more and more practice i saw that jere had also arrived.
"nicole, i'll take her" he said tapping on her shoulder.
"she's all yours" she said laughing.
"thanks"
"i heard you still need an escort"
"well i most certainly do, but i already have someone i'll ask"
"oh is that so? look at you little lane all grown up. well not grown but older" he said laughing and petting my head.
"hey man, i could count that as verbal abuse"

"yeah whatever. you wanna have some real fun?"
"sure why not"
"alexa, play 'so pretty'"
when she started playing jere started dancing and soon all the others did too.

"alexa, stop." paige said and the music shut off. "jeremiah fisher, why aren't you at the pool?"
"we had a "code brown." yeah, we lost the keys to the chemical closet."
"there you go."
"thanks. catch ya later."
"alright, everyone, let's try that again... this time, without the theatrics."

_

after rehearsal i dropped belly off at the beach house and went to the town center to look for a deb dress one more time.
this time i went more through the thrift and vintage stores and ended up finding a really pretty dress.

i tried it on and it fitted me perfectly.
when i looked at the price tag i knew that i should keep looking, because i knew that laurel wouldn't let me buy a little more expensive dress to only wear it once. i still took a picture of it just in case.

✩★✩

when i returned to the house it seemed pretty empty which was unusual.
from the hallway i could see that conrad was in the kitchen.

"hey you" i said when i entered and sat on kitchen counter.
"hey you too" he said with a huge smile on his face.
"so..."
"so?"
"so we kissed, and i really liked it"
"you did?" he asked raising his eyebrows.
"you didn't?" i asked now insecure.
"no! no i really did too. i just thought that you didn't."
"yeah, no i really did"
"can i kiss you again?"
"mhm sure, yea, please"

i never thought that i would kiss conrad like ever. but here i was in the kitchen of the summer house, in his arms kissing him and feeling the most comfortable i ever did.

"do you want me to take you to the ball?" he mumbled into my hair.
"yes, please!"
"mhm, okay, great"
"but i have one condition" i pulled a little away from the hug so I could look into his eyes.
"and that is?"

"you'll end whatever that is with nicole. i don't wanna be a part of a stupid love triangle or so"
"okay, i'll text her"
"yeah you better do."
"look, i just did"
he showed up his phone.
"mhm good."

"do you have a dress yet?" he asked to change the subject.
"well, i saw one that i really liked and fitted me but it's too expensive"
"do you have a photo or something?"
"actually yea. just one second" i got out my phone and looked for the picture.
"it's really pretty. i think you should get it" he said when he took a closer look.
"you think?"
"mhm, yea totally"
"i think laurel would kill me"
"it's your decision"